FALCON INVITATIONAL: Aycock's Allen starting to see young team mature

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 1, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- RJ Allen knew it was just a matter of time before Charles B. Aycock's wrestling team started to hit its stride.

He got his first glimpse 10 days ago when the Golden Falcons dethroned two-time defending Pilkington Memorial Dual champion Rosewood. It was Aycock's eighth title, but first since 2007.

Allen considers that head-turning win a boost for his young team.

"We had just come off a great tournament at Rosewood and finished in the top three behind Rosewood (and Holly Springs)," Allen said of the highly-competitive Eagle Invitational.

"Then beating Rosewood to take the Pilkington was huge for us. In my short coaching career of three years, that was our first win against that powerhouse of a team."

Now Aycock goes after another team championship that has eluded it since 2008 -- the Falcon Invitational. The 15-team individual tournament begins Saturday morning.

Rocky Mount returns to defend its title.

Former Falcon Invitational winners Rosewood and North Pitt are also in the field.

"We're looking forward to a great tournament (and) are also looking for a good showing from our team," Allen said. "We have a lot of confidence going into this weekend, but realize each wrestler must bring their 'A' game in order to continue our top finishes.

"All county rivals will be here along with regional rivals. It's going to be a great day of wrestling."

Aycock's newest Century Club (100 wins) member Joshua Wallace puts his unbeaten record on the line at 160 pounds. Teammates Tyler Marquard (138) and Jaret Paynter (195), who each took first at the Eagle Invitational, are expected to contend for gold medals.

The Golden Falcons had five top-four placers at the Eagle.

The dark horse could be Eastern Wayne.

First-year head coach Aaron Lynch said his wrestlers have shown daily improvement in the workout room, and are starting to understand how to handle certain situations on the mat.

"We've had some great practices over the holiday break and are looking forward to the tournaments and our conference dual schedule coming up in January," Lynch said. "I think our guys have really started to hit their stride with their conditioning and technique, and are excited for the upcoming competitions."

A quintet of Warriors -- Mario Harper, Cainen Miller, Ryshon Rodwell, Jordan Wooten and Chris Barbour -- are expected to contend for medals in their respective weight classes. Miller has a team-leading 16 individual wins, followed by Rodwell (13) and Harper (12).

Of course, you can't count out Rosewood.

The Eagles, over the past five seasons, have reset the standard of wrestling in the county. They've finished eastern runners-up in the dual-team playoffs and produced three state championships during that stretch.

Three seniors and three freshmen have been the backbone of the team this season. Dylan Melgar, Blake Dean and Kaleb Taylor -- all seniors -- have combined for 60 wins on the mat.

Taylor is 23-0 and the reigning state 1-A heavyweight champ.

The freshman crew -- Timothy Decatur-Luker, Chris Hill and Jordan Todd -- have combined for 75 wins. Decatur-Luker has the team's second-best individual record (28-1) behind Taylor.

"As we enter the final month of regular-season wrestling, we have asked several first-year wrestlers to step into some really big shoes of the Rosewood wrestling tradition," RHS head coach Bill Edmundson said. "The coaching staff could not be more pleased with their progress. We're cautiously optimistic on our postseason possibilities, but will continue to seek out the very best competition to prepare our team.

"The second-, third- and fourth-year guys will have to model the toughness and physicality it will take (for us) to be successful."